Intravenous needle hub construction



May 5, 1970 Y. R. GU TTMAN 3,509,330

INTRAVENOUS NEEDLE HUB CONSTRUCTION Original Filed Sept. 1, 1964 FIG.I 29/ FIG. IO

H\-\ 63 FIG. ll

C] FIG. I2 70 INVENTOR. YOLAN R. GUTTMAN FIG. I?) (ML 1 me ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,509,880 INTRAVENOUS NEEDLE HUB CONSTRUCTION Yolan R. Guttman, 675 E. 23rd St., Bronx, N.Y. 10466 Continuation of application Ser. No. 393,658, Sept. 1, 1964, which is a continuation-impart of application Ser. No. 313,362, Oct. 2, 1963. This application Mar. 13, 1969, Ser. No. 810,909

Int. Cl. A61m /32 U.S. Cl. 128221 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An intravenous needle asembly having a hub with a straight needle affixed therein. The hub has a flat laterally concave bottom surface extending throughout its length and includes means for enhancing adherence to a patients arm. In addition, the side portions of the hub slope upwardly in a substantially convex arc.

This application is a continuation of co-pending application Ser. No. 393,658 filed Sept. 1, 1964, which was in turn, a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 313,- 362 filed on Oct. 2, 1963, both now abandoned.

This invention relates in general to needles as used in the practice of medicine and, more particularly, to intravenous needles.

Conventional needles, such as those which are now used for the administration of intravenous fluids, have a generally cylindrical hub from which there projects a tube or needle, known as a cannula, which is beveled at the tip to provide an opening. If the patient moves while the needle is inserted in a vein, the tip of the conventional needle often penetrates the wall of the vein in which it is inserted so that the opening of the needle dispenses fluid into surrounding tissues causing swelling and pain. This is known as infiltration. When it occurs, the conventional needle must be removed and, if therapy is to be continued, it must be inserted at another point. Not infrequently this process must be repeated several times a day for the same patient.

An intravenous needle which may be more securely fixed to an arm or another portion of the body of a patient while the cannula is inserted in a vein will reduce the danger of infiltration.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide an intravenous needle having a hub which will better resist change of position upon movement of the patient.

A further object of this invention is to provide a more easily handled and inserted intravenous needle.

Another object of this invention is to provide an intravenous needle having a hub which may be more easily and securely fixed to the body of a patient.

Still another object of this invention is to provide an intravenous needle having a hub axially offset but parallel to a hub extension and a needle.

Many other objects, advantages and features of invention reside in the particular construction, combination and arrangement of parts involved in the embodiments of this invention and its. practice as will be understood from the following description and accompanying drawing wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a side view of an intravenous needle according to a first embodiment of this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side view of an intravenous needle according to a second embodiment of this invention;

FIGURE 3 is a side view of an intravenous needle according to a third embodiment of this invention;

FIGURES 4 and 5 are end views of the hub ends of the needles shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, respectively;

3,509,880 Patented May 5, 1970 ice FIGURES 6, 7 and 8 are sections taken on lines 6- 6, 77 and 8-8 of FIGURES 1, 2 and 3, respectively;

FIGURE 9 is a bottom view of the needle of FIG- URE 3;

FIGURE 10 is a top view of the needles of FIGURES 1 and 2 with the needle portion broken away;

FIGURE 11 is a top view of the needle of FIGURE 3 with a securing tape, partially broken away, fixed thereover;

FIGURE 12 is a side vietw of a conventional cannula atached to a fragment of a hub portion according to this invention; and,

FIGURE 13 is a section taken on line 1313 of FIG- URE 11.

Referring to the drawing in detail, FIGURES 1, 4, 9 and 10 show the first embodiment of this invention. An intravenous needle, generally designated by the numeral 20, has a needle portion 21 terminating in the lance type pointed tip 22. The needle portion or cannula 21 is tubular in form containing a central passage (not shown) leading toward the tip 22. Lateral openings 23 are formed in the sides of the cannula 21 to communicate with the central passage therein.

The metal cannula 21 is fixed in a plastic hub 24 having a rearmost portion 25 and an elongated portion 26. A large rearwardly facing opening 27 in the rearmost portion 25 is formed to accommodate a standard Leur tapered syringe type outlet or any equivalent fitting. Extending forward from the large rearwardly facing opening 27 through the elongated front portion 26 is a smaller channel 28 which communicates with the rearmost end of cannula 21 and the central passage therein. Hub 24 may also be made of metal, although it is now the more common practice to make needle hubs of molded plastic formed about the rearmost ends of cannulas.

As may be further seen in the drawing, the cannula 21, the smaller channel 28 in the front portion 26, and the large rearwardly facing opening 27 are aligned about a common axis. The bottom surface 29 is flattened and slightly concave laterally. Formed in the bottom surface 29 are a number of small generally rectangular indentations 30. The sides 31 and 32 of the front portion 26 and the rearmost portion 25 of the hub 24 slope downward and outward to the outer edges of bottom surface 29.

The second embodiment of this invention is shown in FIGURES 2, 5, 9 and 10. This needle, generally designated by the numeral 40, has a needle portion 41 substantially identical to that shown and described for the first embodiment of this invention except that it has only two lateral openings 43. A hub 44 has a rearmost portion 45 and a front portion 46 also substantially identical to those shown and described for the first embodiment of this invention. However, as shown in FIGURES 2 and 5, it may be seen that the rearmost portion 45 of hub 44 is offset upward from the front portion 46 and the cannula 41. As in the first embodiment of this invention, the smaller channel 48 extends through the front portion 46 to communicate with the rear end of cannula 41 and the central passage therein. The rearwardly facing opening 47 of hub 44 is offset upward from channel 48 so that channels 47 and 48 do not have a common axis, although they have parallel axes disposed one above the other. The bottom surface of hub 44 is identical to that of needle 20.

The third embodiment of this invention is shown in FIGURES 3, 8, 9 and 10 and has the same appearance as FIGURE 4 when viewed from the hub end. This needle, generally designated by the numeral 60, has a cannula 61 shown containing one or more lateral openings 63, The hub portion 64 tapers smoothly forward and contains a large rearward facing opening and a smal er channel extending therefrom to the rear of cannula 61 similar to those in the first embodiment of this invention. As shown in FIGURE 9, the bottom surface 69 of the hub portion 64 contains rectangular indentations forming a wafiie pattern. These indentations 30 may also be used in the first two embodiments of this invention to enable a needle hub to be more securely fixed to the body during intravenous therapy.

FIGURES 11 and 13 show how a piece of tape 70 or the like may be fixed over the hub portion 64 to hold it to the body. In a like manner, tape may be placed over the elongated front portions 26 and 46 of the hubs 24 and 44.

The hub construction of this invention is best used with a cannula of the type shown in FIGURES 1, 2 and 3 having a lance like point and one or more lateral openings. For maximum ease in handling the needle and for insertion of the cannula, the hub and the cannula'should be of substantially the same length to provide a balanced needle. However, as shown in FIGURE 12, a conventional cannula 71 may be used with the hub of this invention although it will not be as infiltration proof as the cannulas herein described. Any movement of the hub after insertion of the cannula into a vein will tend to force the bevel of a conventional cannula 71 through the wall of a vein.

The flat lower surface 29 or 67 of the hub of this invention lies flush against the skin after insertion of the cannula. This flat lower surface, with its slight lateral concavity, prevents rolling of the hub with consequent lateral motion of the tip of the cannula and the possibility of infiltration. The indentations 30 in the fiat lower surface of the hub prevent it from slipping on the skin while the rounded top of the hub makes it easy to securely tape the hub in place on the body. The offsetting of the rearmost portion 45 of the hub 44 of the second embodiment of this invention conserves material used in the manufacture of the hub and enables the needle to lie flatter when in use.

While this invention has been disclosed in the best forms known, it will nevertheless be understood that these are purely exemplary and that modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention except as it may be more limited in the appended claims What is claimed is:

1. An intravenous needle assembly comprising a hub with a straight needle fixed therein, said hub having a flat, laterally concave bottom surface extending the length thereof, said bottom surface having means thereon for enhancing adherence to a patients arm.

2. An intravenous needle assembly according to claim 1 wherein the side portions of said hub slope upward and toward each other in a convex are.

3. An intravenous needle assembly according to claim 1 wherein the forward portion of said hub is gradually tapered toward the needle retaining end and this taper is abruptly terminated prior to reaching the rear end of the hub, said abrupt termination effecting a rear portion of increased cross-sectional dimensions relative to any other portion of said hub.

4. An intravenous needle assembly according to claim 1 wherein said hub and said needle are of substantially the same length and said hub and needle are in balance.

5. An intravenous needle assembly according to claim 1 wherein said bottom surface contains closely spaced indentations.

6. An intravenous needle assembly according to claim 1 wherein said hub has a small longitudinal channel extending therethrough to said needle, and a rearwardly facing opening that is upwardly offset from said channel and has an axis parallel to and above the axis of said small channel.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,175,108 3/1916 Abelmann. 1,742,497 1/ 1930 Dickinson 128-221 2,137,132 11/1938 Cooley 128-221 2,322,753 6/1943 Thomas 128214 X 3,099,988 8/ 1963 Ginsburg 128-'221 FOREIGN PATENTS "87,438 6/1959 Denmark.

622,814 3/ 1927 France. 1,196,601 5/1959 France.

839,507 6/ 1960 Great Britain.

575,105 4/ 1958 Italy.

DALTON L. TRULUCK, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 128-347 

